Kosciusko, Miss. - Lawrin Lighting has a new name, an its new
president has developed and focus and marketing strategy.

The accessories division of furniture manufacturer Johnston/Tombigbee
has changed its name to Allure, Distinctive Home Accents. The company
will unveil its new identity, as well as more than 50 new lamps and
accessories and an in-store merchandising display, at the JTB showroom
on South Main Street in High Point during this week's home
furnishings market.

Executives hope the renewal will attract new buyers and bring back
retailers who had stayed away during Lawrin's troubled times.

At one time, Lawrin was a leading promotional lamp resource. The
company lost ground as margins eroded, went bankrupt and was sold to
Johnston/Tombigbee in March 1994. Since then, the company has sold
promotional lamps to furniture retailers. Last fall, the company
auctioned off a warehouse full of old component parts to make room for
new components and new merchandise.

Phil Williams, who was named president of Lawrin in December and
subsequently took on operational and managerial responsibilities as vice
president and general manager of JTB, has been developing market goals
and strategies to meet them. Williams reports to Scott Berry, president
of JTB.

One of the first orders of business was to survey the market and find
a new place to fill. When Williams researched the retail lighting
market, he said he found an opening in "moderately priced, but
stylized product.

"We don't want to be a metoo company," Williams
remarked, adding that Allure will try to differentiate itself from other
vendors by designer looks, value prices and new marketing concepts.

This market, for instance, buyers will see a new product line with
designer collections by industry talents Jan Graf and Delores Everhart
and Tina Higgins, a designer new to the lamp arena.

Graf has signed on to develop a line of sports motif lamps and
sculptures, the first of which will debut this week: the image of a
golfer driving from a tee. The piece will be available in alabaster or
bronze finish and will be signed by the designer. It will retail for
approximately $100.

Other introductions include a collection of native pottery and metal
combined in several lamp bodies, resin accent lamps, hydrocal lamps in
varied finishes, and several brass and ceramic pieces.

Additionally, Allure will present a new in-store modular merchandiser
for accent lamps and accessories. It hopes to market the display to
furniture dealers with a minimum purchase.

"This is a new concept for furniture retailers that can really
differentiate them," Williams said.

Allure finishes and assembles merchandise and manufactures all its
shade at its Kosciusko, Miss., facility.

Johnston/Tombigbee's roots are with the independent furniture
dealers. Over the past seven years, JTB's sales have grown from $6
million to $50 million; the company has added product lines and expanded
its retail clientele, according to Berry. JTB is currently pursuing
department stores.

"We're trying to get out of the box with market expansion
into other areas," Williams reported. National chains, department
stores and specialty stores will be targeted.

The company is also putting together a special sales rep force to
address the retail lighting showroom trade.

"From the inception, Lawrin was a strongly recognized name, but
for a host of reasons, the eye was taken off the ball," Berry
related. "The company was idle when we showed up about two years
ago. That image has carried over, that image of a close-out company.
It's been somewhat of an obstacle to overcome," Berry
explained.

Executives decided to shed the name and, they hope, any connotations
the name carried with it in the marketplace. Because the company wanted
to strike out with new home decor products that coordinate with
JTB's furniture lines, it needed an name that did not limit it to
one accessory category. Hence the name "Allure" and the
tagline, "Distinctive Home Accents."

This market, Allure will present lamps and mirrors, but executives
expect the collection will eventually encompass wall decor, occasional
furniture and furniture from the Old Waverly division, which produces
wicker and iron pieces.

"Lighting and accessories are an integral part of our
business," Berry commented. "They're the glue that
binds."

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